so ive been licensed for about 3 years now but mostly just did phone and some digital stuff. always kind of ignored CW because it seemed intimidating but lately a few guys at the club have been really pushing me to give it a shot and honestly after hearing them work stations on 40m it sounds really cool.

anyway i picked up a used MFJ keyer off a guy at the hamfest last month and its working fine i think, but i dont have a paddle yet. just been using the straight key that came with my old kit radio. im getting the hang of sending with it but its slow and my fist is pretty bad from what i can tell.

so my question is do i need to spend a lot on a paddle to start? ive been looking at the Bencher BY-1 which seems popular but also the cheaper options from amazon that i dont know anything about. is there a middle ground somewhere? dont really want to spend $200 on something i might not stick with but also dont want junk that makes learning harder

The Bencher BY-1 is honestly a solid choice and you can find them used for like $40-60 if you keep an eye on QRZ classifieds or eham. Thats what most people start on and plenty of folks never feel the need to upgrade. The cheap amazon paddles can be frustrating because the tension and contact spacing adjustments are usually pretty sloppy which makes it harder to get consistent timing when youre learning iambic.

One thing nobody told me when I started - spend more time on the receiving side than you think you need to. I got obsessed with sending and my copy lagged way behind. Try to copy nets, maybe start with the W1AW code practice transmissions, there's a schedule on the arrl site. Even just putting headphones on and listening to a slow CW QSO for 20 minutes a day does more than you'd think. Your brain kind of absorbs it over time. Took me about 4 months before it started clicking and now its just there.

im in basically the same boat as you actually, started on a straight key and just got a used Begali paddle a few weeks ago which was probably overkill but i got a good deal on it. honestly the straight key isnt a bad way to start some people say it builds better timing habits before you move to iambic. but yeah the bencher is the standard answer for a reason, most of the elmers ive talked to started on one and theyre built like tanks. just make sure whatever keyer youre using has adjustable speed and sidetone because practicing without sidetone feedback is rough